Hinkley: Disabled Army veteran settles with PG&E

Resident Richard Johnson, 39, who is a member of the town's Community Advisory Committee, stands in front of his home in Hinkley on Thursday, March 7, 2013. A disabled and unemployed veteran, Johnson is living rent-free in his grandmother's home, but will soon be evicted after his grandmother agreed to PG&E's buyout program.
Rachel Luna — Staff Photographer

Richard Johnson is looking forward to a new start -- away from Hinkley.

The former Michigan resident came to Hinkley with his family five years ago with the idea of purchasing a house from his wife's grandmother.

He invested more than $10,000 in time and labor to improve the house. And then chromium-6 began showing up in the home's well, dragging the purchase idea down a deep, dark hole.

Meanwhile, the Desert Storm Army veteran's service-related spinal injury began to catch up with him. He said he needed surgery and has not been able to work since.

His wife's grandmother wanted to sell the house to Pacific Gas & Electric Co., since it can't be rented or sold to anyone else.

Because Johnson is a renter, PG&E originally was only willing to pay his family, which includes two boys who attended the Hinkley school, $6,000 in relocation expenses.

But later that offer went up. Johnson said he is legally bound not to disclose what the settlement ended up being or any of the conditions that might be associated with it.

"It cost me $13,000 to relocate from Michigan, and I have a lot more stuff now," he said before the offer was "sweetened."

Johnson and his wife, Crystal, said this past spring that they wanted to move far away, perhaps to Alaska.

But the plan changed to an intermediate move to Barstow, with the idea of relocating to the states of Washington or Idaho. Or maybe Montana.

PG&E will likely complete the purchase of the house this summer.

As he prepared to leave Hinkley, Johnson was among several board members to resign from Hinkley's Community Advisory Committee, which communicates on behalf of residents on chromium-6 issues with water regulators and PG&E.